Celtic have not held discussions with transfer target Nadir Ciftci, confirms agent

As reported by the Daily Mail recently, Celtic were keen on a summer move for Ciftci, but his agent Pierre van Hooijdonk has confirmed to the Evening Times that he has yet to receive any offers for a transfer.

The former Celtic forward said: “There has been some speculation but that is all. There is nothing to report on that front. I have not had a conversation with Peter Lawwell or anyone else at Celtic about Nadir. He is a very good player so there is always going to be interest in him but we will see what happens.”

Ciftci is certainly a player who would improve the Bhoys first-team squad, with Ronny Deila in serious need of a top level goalscoring forward. He has netted 14 goals in 41 games this season, which admittedly is less than Celtic’s leading scorer Leigh Griffiths, but he has scored consistently for the whole campaign, in a worse team.

Griffiths has only found the back of the net consistently in the last few months, and Celtic need a player to take the weight off his shoulders.

Ciftci is still only 23, and has plenty of years left to develop, and his contract expires at the end of next season, meaning Dundee United could be pushed to sell him this summer. He has been offered a new deal, but there are no indications as to whether it will be signed.

The former Dutch and Turkish youth international moved to United in the summer of 2013, and has scored 31 goals and assisted 21 more in 81 competitive games for the club.

Billy Hawkins

Billy is a freelance writer who contributes to various sites concerning football. Known to possess an obsession with statistics, Eastern European club sides, and Victorian football, he focuses upon the untapped potential of the Football League in the belief it is more enjoyable than the Premier League.